Communications

The Airport Authority is committed to providing open, honest and timely information to our many customers. These audiences include: travellers, the general public, the 24,000 people who work and volunteer on Sea Island, business partners, industry associations, local communities, government, charities, First Nations and media.

A PERCEPTIVE AIRPORT

To better anticipate customer needs, YVR made significant advances towards becoming a perceptive airport in 2014. As the name implies, a perceptive airport anticipates customers’ needs and wants by utilizing user-provided data throughout their entire airport experience.

In the fall of 2014, YVR introduced its cloud-based digital gateway to establish a single platform for content. We conducted a soft launch of the new YVR app, which utilizes the digital gateway to provide accurate and timely information on our facilities to passengers and employees. The new app provides detailed 3D maps of the airport, information on services and flight information. In 2015, we will formally launch the app and continue to add new features.

YVR.CA

Our online presence continued to strengthen in 2014. Our corporate website, yvr.ca, received over 25 million page views—an increase of more than one million (7 per cent) over 2013. We also launched our Chinese language website in February. The Chinese website demonstrated strong demand, with almost 600,000 visitors in 2014.

To meet the growing demand for online information and services, we began planning a website upgrade in 2014. The refreshed website, set to launch in 2015, will be fully integrated with YVR’s digital gateway. New services discussed include filterable, real-time flight searches, e-commerce forms for shopping and enhanced accessibility features.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We continued to see a trend of remarkable growth in social media. As a 24-hour operational business, social media allows us to communicate directly with our customers, partners and the community. In 2014, we grew our following across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by over 30,000 people, totalling more than 50,000 followers.

Our Twitter account (@YVRAIRPORT) gained 11,000 followers, a 73 per cent increased over 2013, and regained the top spot as the most followed airport in Canada at over 26,000 followers. Our Facebook page gained 17,000 followers, a 279 per cent increase over 2013. This spike came with our support and involvement at community festivals, where we encouraged people to share and like our content. Our Instagram account launched and finished the year with a comfortable 2,100 followers. And the YVR Blog recorded over 120,000 views, a 20 per cent increase from 2013.

MEDIA RELATIONS

An essential component of our communications efforts is providing timely updates to the public. In 2014, we had 685 phone media enquiries, with topics ranging from the impact of weather to the opening of new facilities, and reached over 337 million people through our coverage. Popular media mentions included the wildlife program, travel tips, inaugurals, the Skytrax win, Automated Passport Control and concession openings.

Looking for more detailed information about our Social performance in 2014?